Apple shows off new upcoming emoji including - finally - ginger ones

- It's about time!

World Emoji Day is 17 July, and Apple is celebrating the event by introducing 70 new emoji characters, including gingers.

Apple has shared details on emoji that are coming to iOS devices "later this year" as part of the Unicode 11 emoji release. It plans to release 70 new emoji characters with options for red hair, gray hair, curly hair, and no hair. Having red hair is somewhat rare, and redheads have been largely ostracised. No more, says Apple. These ginger emoji additions will be welcomed by all those who signed a petition asking for them.

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Apple is also adding new smiley faces that include cold face, party face, pleading face, and face with hearts. Super heroes, an infinity symbol, and new animals such as kangaroo, peacock, parrot, and lobster will be added, too. New foods include mango, lettuce, cupcake, and moon cake. A full list of the emoji in Unicode 11 are available at Emojipedia, which also interviewed Alan Dye, Apple's VP of User Interface.

According to Dye, Apple went for an emoji design that's "the most iconic". He also said Apple often considers adding more diverse options, such as emojis for black families, but, as he explained, "I think that you need a UI that can accommodate the variations."